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Africa: Irregular Warfare on the Dark Continent Alexander Joint Special Operations University JSOU Report 09-5 Africa: Irregular Warfare on the Dark Continent Alexander Joint Special Operations University Brian A. Maher, Ed.D., SES, President Lieutenant Colonel Michael C. McMahon, U.S. Air Force, Strategic Studies Department Director William W. Mendel, Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret.; Jeffrey W. Nelson, Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret.; and William S. Wildrick, Captain, U.S. Navy, Ret — Resident Senior Fellows Editorial Advisory Board Joint Special Operations University John B. Alexander Alvaro de Souza Pinheiro and the Strategic Studies Department Ph.D., Education, The Apollinaire Group Major General, Brazilian Army, Ret. and JSOU Senior Fellow JSOU Associate Fellow The Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) provides its publications Roby C. Barrett, Ph.D., Middle James F. Powers, Jr. to contribute toward expanding the body of knowledge about joint special Eastern & South Asian History Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret. Public Policy Center Middle East Institute Director of Homeland Security, operations. JSOU publications advance the insights and recommendations and JSOU Senior Fellow Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and of national security professionals and the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Joseph D. Celeski JSOU Associate Fellow students and leaders for consideration by the SOF community and defense Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret. Richard H. Shultz, Jr. leadership. JSOU Senior Fellow Ph.D., Political Science JSOU is the educational component of the United States Special Opera- Chuck Cunningham Director, International Security tions Command (USSOCOM), MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. The JSOU Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force, Ret. Studies Program, The Fletcher School, Tufts mission is to educate SOF executive, senior, and intermediate leaders and Professor of Strategy, Joint Advanced University and JSOU Senior Fellow Warfighting School and JSOU Associate Fellow selected other national and international security decision makers, both Stephen Sloan military and civilian, through teaching, outreach, and research in the Gilbert E. Doan Ph.D., Comparative Politics Major, U.S. Army, Ret., JSOU University of Central Florida science and art of joint special operations. JSOU provides education to the Institutional Integration Division Chief Robert G. Spulak, Jr. men and women of SOF and to those who enable the SOF mission in a joint Brian H. Greenshields Ph.D., Physics/Nuclear Engineering environment. Colonel, U.S. Air Force Sandia National Laboratories SOF Chair, Naval Postgraduate School JSOU conducts research through its Strategic Studies Department where and JSOU Associate Fellow effort centers upon the USSOCOM mission and the commander’s priorities. Thomas H. Henriksen Ph.D., History, Hoover Institution Joseph S. Stringham Mission. Provide fully capable special operations forces to defend the Stanford University and JSOU Senior Fellow Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Ret. Alutiiq, LLC and JSOU Associate Fellow United States and its interests. Plan and synchronize operations against Russell D. Howard terrorist networks. Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Ret. Graham H. Turbiville, Jr. Faculty Associate, Defense Critical Language/ Ph.D., History, Courage Services, Inc. Priorities. • Deter, disrupt, and defeat terrorist threats. Culture Program, Mansfield Center, University and JSOU Senior Fellow • Develop and support our people and their families. of Montana and JSOU Senior Fellow Jessica Glicken Turnley • Sustain and modernize the force. John D. Jogerst Ph.D., Cultural Anthropology/ The Strategic Studies Department also provides teaching and curricu- Colonel, U.S. Air Force, Ret. Southeast Asian Studies 18th USAF Special Operations School lum support to Professional Military Education institutions—the staff Galisteo Consulting Group Commandant and JSOU Senior Fellow colleges and war colleges. It advances SOF strategic influence by its interac- James Kiras Rich Yarger tion in academic, interagency, and United States military communities. Ph.D., History, School of Advanced Air and Ph.D., History, Professor of National The JSOU portal is https://jsoupublic.socom.mil. Space Studies, Air University and JSOU Security Policy, U.S. Army War College Associate Fellow and JSOU Associate Fellow On the cover. 22 March 2007, a U.S. Special Forces soldier instructs Malian troops in counterterrorism tactics through a translator. Originally pub- lished on Vanityfair.com, 10 September 2007. Photograph by Justin Bishop. Copyright ©2007 Condé Nast Publications. Used by permission. Africa: Irregular Warfare on the Dark Continent John B. Alexander JSOU Report 09-5 The JSOU Press Hurlburt Field, Florida 2009 Comments about this publication are invited and should be forwarded to Director, Strategic Studies Department, Joint Special Operations University, 357 Tully Street, Alison Building, Hurlburt Field, Florida 32544. Copies of this publication may be obtained by calling JSOU at 850-884-1569; FAX 850-884-3917. ******* The JSOU Strategic Studies Department is currently accepting written works relevant to special operations for potential publication. For more information please contact Mr. Jim Anderson, JSOU Director of Research, at 850-884-1569, DSN 579-1569, [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the JSOU Press. ******* This work was cleared for public release; distribution is unlimited. ISBN 1-933749-34-2 The views expressed in this publication are entirely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views, policy or position of the United States Government, Department of Defense, United States Special Operations Command, or the Joint Special Operations University. Recent Publications of the JSOU Press Educating for Strategic Thinking in the SOF Community, January 2007, Harry R. Yarger The Israeli Approach to Irregular Warfare and Implications for the U.S., February 2007, Thomas H. Henriksen Psychological Operations: Learning Is Not a Defense Science Project, March 2007, Curtis D. Boyd 2007 JSOU and NDIA SO/LIC Division Essays, April 2007 Hunting Leadership Targets in Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorist Operations, June 2007, Graham H. Turbiville, Jr. Executive Report, JSOU Second Annual Symposium (30 April–3 May 2007) A Theory of Special Operations, October 2007, Robert G. Spulak, Jr. Block by Block: Civic Action in the Battle of Baghdad, November 2007, Adrian T. Bogart III Private Security Infrastructure Abroad, November 2007, Graham H. Turbiville, Jr. Intelligence in Denied Areas, December 2007, Russell D. Howard Is Leaving the Middle East a Viable Option, January 2008, Thomas H. Henriksen Retaining a Precarious Value as Special Operations Go Mainstream, February 2008, Jessica Glicken Turnley Disrupting Threat Finances, April 2008, Wesley J.L. Anderson USSOCOM Research Topics 2009 India’s Northeast: The Frontier in Ferment, September 2008, Prakash Singh What Really Happened in Nortern Ireland’s Counterinsurgency, October 2008, Thomas H. Henriksen Guerrilla Counterintelligence: Insurgent Approaches to Neutralizing Adversary Intelligence Operations, January 2009, Graham H. Turbiville, Jr. Policing and Law Enforcement in COIN — the Thick Blue Line, February 2009, Joseph D. Celeski Contemporary Security Challenges: Irregular Warfare and Indirect Approaches, February 2009, Richard D. Newton, Travis L. Homiak, Kelly H. Smith, Isaac J. Peltier, and D. Jonathan White Special Operations Forces Interagency Counterterrorism Reference Manual, March 2009 The Arabian Gulf and Security Policy: The Past as Present, the Present as Future, April 2009, Roby C. Barrett Foreword r. John Alexander’s current JSOU Press monograph provides an assessment of the African continent with a particular focus on Dhow Special Operations Forces (SOF) may need to operate and how the local environment impacts these operations. He provides a strategic overview and assessment of current conditions on the continent, identifies key concerns and issues, and discusses key players. For a variety of reasons, Africa is, and will remain, a region of critical importance not only to the United States but also to other regions and countries of the world. This monograph will be very useful for SOF planners and operators as well as conventional forces and interagency partners working in the region. Dr. Alexander provides insight into major issues concerning Africa from tribalism, resource competition, and political instability to terrorist and criminal network linkages. The author bases his assessment on a review of historical trends as well as the impact of current political and geostrategic events. His realistic assessment indicates the region is likely to remain volatile for the short-to-medium timeframe. Conflicts in the Sudan, Congo, and the Horn of Africa combined with instability or potential instability within other key African countries will require external support and assistance from the United States and its allies to work out a viable solution to their problems. Much of this assistance will not fall into the military realm. Unfortunately much of the instability will turn into conflict and may require multinational military intervention. This tension between assistance and intervention is the underlying conundrum facing strategists and planners—Africa is too important to the world to continue to ignore its significant challenges and conflicts. Michael C. McMahon, Lt Col USAF Director, JSOU Strategic Studies Department vii About the Author r. John Alexander has been a leading advocate for the develop- ment of nonlethal weapons since he created renewed interest in Dthe
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